Poppets are excitable

Today is for photography. It's cold-ish outside, but the light is good and the Poppets are behaving, mostly. Well, except for one excited Love Bug, who just couldn't keep still.

Oh well. All in a day's work.

Thought you'l like these 'out' takes and a peek at some new goodies.

Sale starts tomorrow! Actually, now.

Poppets Love February.


Back to work for your artist. I think the poppets may be getting into the chocolate stash. Sigh

It's Monday?

Today was a 13-hour day in the studio. In my head it's this mosaic of pictures, starting with me there alone with my coffee and Gorecki, feeling pretty satisfied to be starting the day that way.

There are lots of other images, sounds too, coming faster, louder and brighter. Working, talking, power tools, shouting over power tools, music, laughter. Breaking for lunch. Breaking to walk in the blustery/cool desert winds. Taking notes and making calls. Planning things, sketches. Big projects, small projects and Poppets.

People in until we were full, then leaving one at a time until, once again, it was just me, quiet and feeling pretty satisfied to be ending the day that way.

Soon I'll be showing you the stuff we made and then we'll pack up the Element (aka, the rubber car) with blankets, snacks and head up the mountain to get a good look at the stars---and maybe play in a bit of snow.

g'night

Dangerous Poppets may lurk in your future

I took a walk at four. When I set out, it was day. When I returned, it was night. But all my steps seemed planted firmly in the in-between, where weirdness and ideas happen. It's cloudy and coldish in the desert and life has been a little too interesting at times this week. Often my walks are mostly about the mountains, which are, well, mountainous, unaffected by whatever chaotic skies are passing over, whatever chaotic scurryings below. The sight of them brings calm, but not comfort.

We're busy in the studio and I'm working on book projects as I can, especially inspired by Derek's (ReallyRatherNotNice) new work.

Happy Birthday to the Vanda Luna who popped inexplicably into my head early this morning, connected to last month's solstice. Remnants of a dream? Dunno. Anyway, Happy Birthday Laura!

This week I'm reading yet another offspring of The Edge. This one, What's Your Dangerous Idea? poses the question to many of the most respected 'thinkers' of various disciplines. The essays are short and readable enough to exercise the brain painlessly. Truly mind-expanding.

I've read several of these Edge books edited by John Brockman, as part of an ongoing effort to squeege that third eye of mine, still stubbornly cloudy after all these years.

No worries. It's the journey, yes? So many books---our walls are filled with them---have brought me countless hours of great joy.

Why haven't I made a 'reading' Poppet? A tiny autodidact. What was I not thinking? What's wrong with me?

Sheesh. So many Poppets. So little time...

Some of the Poppets for Valentines are excellently sweet. Some are excellently not. Now, I'm dangerously in the mood for dangerous Poppets. Go figure.

But first, chicken soup for the little constellation, who is down with a very mean cold. We're stocked up with soup, meds and otter pops.

Travel well tonight.

Poppet Loves You

We've been busy indeed, in the studio, with blustery winds all around us.

We're taking orders now for the blushing Pink "Poppet Loves You" Poppet for Valentine's Day gifts.



You can order one now, and we'll ship it to arrive between the 11th and 14th of February with your message.


Cool, huh? Or at least, extra Poppety sweet.

Of course, you can also order one for you.

Back to work for your artist. There's lots more to be done.

Jack is Back A Brief Look at "Fortune's Teller"

Fortune's Teller is finally leaving us tomorrow. We have scads of photos from along the way. And stories. Remember the sign on the studio door--the one that states "Nothing Can Go Wrong Now?" An absolutely absurd variety of things went wrong with this one. You can't write this stuff.Possibly one day I'll write about it. But not today. I need some time travel to balance my perspective on it. Right now all I want to do it get the thing safely where it's going with no more surprises.

I particularly like the still image of Jack. I'll likely add some text for a t-shirt image for myself. If you like it too, let me know and I'll make some available.

If you don't know who Jack is, you can read about him in Smoke and Mirrors. Fortune's Teller is partially created from the original casting mold for "Don't Ask Jack."



The "Dark Caravan" kinetic carnival began with Jack. It's fitting that the last piece of the carnival features his likeness. It's also fitting that Poppets have infiltrated the carnival, showing up increasingly in the later sculptures.

There are twelve fortunes on the wheel including, Dreams That Wake Hold Warning and A Glimpse Ahead Will Change Your Mind.

This time the wheel stopped at Don't Eat the Dumplings. Sounds silly yes, but I'm pretty sure he means it.

The music is "Sever," by Porcupine Tree on Signify.

Hope you enjoy it. G'night

Geek Heaven, Fiddly Stuff and One Big Smile

Whoosh! Where did the week go? My plan to quietly reorganize the studio and work on books for January jumped track when we had to make room for more studio help. That's how it goes! Sometimes we have to switch gears in the short term for the sake of the longer.

So the quiet week turned into a sort of tornado of activity. Still, I'm managing to find pockets of time to work on book projects.

But now it's the weekend, and I'm really, really tired of thinking. All day I'm trying to focus on simple tasks. It's not working completely---thoughts and ideas creep in around the edges. Thanks to the life-hacks at Make, I reach for my notebook and jot things down instead of getting sidetracked. Too often and I'll have to slap my own hand. That's no good. I already talk to myself. My family doesn't need any new worries about my sanity. I need swimming. Or Wii, or some cheesy movie on demand. And cake, maybe.

Anyway. That's my Saturday, sort of. If you're even remotely as geeky as me, you'll love it here.

And finally, Alison sent me this photo. Logan has begun to laugh. That makes me happy.

g'night

Two, Two, Two Days In One

...or, what I did today.

(For those who get the title reference: Saturday mornings: Tarzan? or Stooges?)

Beginning with three alarms. Two kids to two schools. Pete, me, divide and conquer. Apparently, winter holiday is over.

With coffee-- made notes for a program lecture. Read two articles in Make magazine. Ordered a material sample from a company mentioned in Make.) Then answered emails/calls.

Angie and I started the studio day with a walk. So weird here, considering the weather all around us. Clouds are rare in the desert, so on days like today, I take photos. Tomorrow she can take a photo of me. I wonder what I'll say.

Photos above, but not likely in this order:

Clouds

More Clouds

This is Angie (who says 'nice clouds)

Snowy Mountains with Clouds

A Very Cooperative Bunny (not interested in clouds)

Some Rushing Water (Used to be clouds)

Aunt Beru's Place (looking east, where clouds are clearing.)

I have now typed 'clouds' often enough that it looks strange and misspelled.

After clouds:

I worked on the designs for Valentine gift boxes and tags. Set a time frame for direct gift shipping. Numerous other things on the Valentine checklist.

Ben and I worked out more of the mechanical details for the Strange Machine sculptures that will accompany the Neil Gaiman stories. Discussed wood and lighting choices. Set up a time frame for materials and building, which will be sooner than later, to give me enough time to install the art and painting. We drank too much coffee.

Made a decision about another glass case---what to do with it, when, and where to store it in the meantime. (several of these decisions have to be made to clear space, which we've clearly run out of.

While we talked, I cast three pairs of rats and Ben sorted table clutter into bins. The new tabletops will go in tomorrow morning.

We measured and moved and sorted and made satisfyingly noticeable progress in the reorganization of the studio. The chaos now at least looks like the chaos of sane people.

Ben made lunch for us. I can't remember what the dish is called. It had rice and vegetables, and a sausage made of rice and crawdads. It was delicious and had a nice texture, but I'm not sure how I feel about the crawdads. I like shrimp, and I know that where the 'bait line' intersects the food chain is relative and subjective. But after today, I'm fairly certain mine runs right there between shrimp and crawdads. Anthony Bourdain would likely be ashamed of my tiny-mindedness in the matter of crawdads.

The rest of the day was divided into illustration work for the first Poppet book and creating a framework so Angie can organize illustrations and reference photos for other book projects onto disk.

There's more. So much more. But I'm slipping into the 'it's time to stop and I need food' mode. I am definitely not planning to work this hard tomorrow. Sheesh!

While getting juice for Orion, I ate a slice of baloney without even thinking about it. Sheesh. I'm trying to not eat that stuff. Oscar Meyer, why must you torment me?

Anyway. That's sort of how the day went.

Possibly "What I Did Today" is actually worse than no blog at all, but that's all there is and there isn't any more.

g'night

Blushing Poppets, Big on Cox, We want Poppets NOW!

A quick hello and check-in. I'm happily working away on book projects and helping with reorganizing the studio. It's a good mix.


The weather is weird. Dark and cloudy and cold. Bright orange fruit against cold gray skies is odd and oddly beautiful. They're a good mix too.



There will be two new open edition Poppets for February. We'll get them up in plenty of time for gift giving, and will even send them directly to friends and family for you, nicely wrapped and with your message.

Poppets like love. And candy.



Tonight we saw Walk Hard, The Dewey Cox Story. If you liked 40-Year-Old Virgin, you'll like this movie too. Pete and I, and many others in the theater, laughed from start to finish.

Your wish is our command! Poppets on Demand!

Now Little Red Poppets are available when you need them, gift wrapped and ready to send out into the world or to invite home to live with you.



WARM Little Red Poppets NOW
and
10% to Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

*********

And, if you're in the mood for expanding your mind, visit the edge. Take a Poppet along!

Hope you're January is going well.

g'night